OP River Beta
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11699
Printed Date: 20 Sep 2025 at 4:10am
Topic: OP River Beta
Posted By: tsherman
Subject: OP River Beta
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2012 at 2:35pm
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A few of us from Utah and Montana are planning on paddling in the Olympic Peninsula the first week of March. We are all solid class 4 paddlers. I am looking for some local knowledge on what class 3-4 runs might be running (4-5 runs are OK if there aren't too many class 5 rapids and they are portagable). We will be camping and can travel to different zones during the week. We typically like to paddle a different run every day of the trip. Thanks for any advice!!! |
Replies:
Posted By: James
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2012 at 2:58pm
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"We typically like to paddle a different run every day of the trip" Well my aren't we spoiled... nah j/k, you will not have a problem meeting that criteria, bring a Tarp and your rain coats cuz there is a ever so slight chance of Rain out on the OP during March. Go to the rivers page for more beta and talk with other paddlers of course but off hand I would be sure to get on Matheny, Humptulips, Dungeness, Elwha, Legs of the Satsop, Soleduck and the Wynoochee. Some have more technical parts but most of these rivers and runs don't have sections that are really technical or unportagable. Sitkum is great but more on the IV-V zone and there are some things that you just can't walk around along with many of the other runs in that IV and up zone. Pick up a copy of Gary Korbs guide if your planning on going it alone other wise hook up with some OP boaters. |
Posted By: tsherman
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2012 at 3:08pm
Thanks for the info! Got Gary's guidebook and several tarps.  |
Posted By: BIGWATER
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2012 at 3:42pm
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i love the Olympic ! id say along with tarps, a chainsaw or large bow saw and some dry wood or fire starter logs would be nice to have if you spend enough time up on the OP you will run into trees across the road .... and there is tons of wood to burn out there, but its all wet so dry wood or fire logs to start fires is key
i live in Oly and have been boating the Olympics for years .... gimi a call when you are in town
Chris at three 6 zero 867 one nine two one
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Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2012 at 6:50pm
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Yup. I'd say Bigwater is one of your very best "go-to-guys" for OP beta. I've run most of the stuff out there too that you'd likely want to target, and would be happy to throw in my 2 cents (and everyone around here who knows me knows I'll probably add two bits, and maybe some wooden nickles- but if you're already armed w/ the Korb book, you should be ok.). I'd do your home work now by cross referencing the info in the Korb book w/ our much more freshly updated database. Our rivers pages are actually pretty good these days, and relatively current. Make a list w/ some contingencies, and then adjust accordingly as the dates get close. W/ the OP, it'll come down to the weather patterns the week of, likely. If this thread gets buried between now n then, just bump it back up to the top w/ a fresh post. You know how opinionated boaters are: PPeeps will chime in to tell you all about stuff...
My recomendations will echo James somewhat, but here goes: Humptulips: dude, do an overnighter. Class III, but its good to be a class IV boater in there. The beauty in there is not to be missed, so don't let the "class III" deter you. You may be looking for class IV, but the Humptulips is magical. Well worth it. Matheney: Pick your poison w/ three sections to choose from: (Top to Bottom). You could easily just spend a whole weekend here and be content. Upper:IV-IV+ (gets harder the more water you add of course) Middle:III+ quickly diminishing to II+ Lower (from bridge down): III+ (I only ran it when it was REALLY HIGH, and I probably was too.) Seemed like very solid IV then. Middle Frk Satsop (Fool's Canyon): straight forward IV, but make sure there's no wood. It was clean Thanksgiving weekend, but then we had an ice storm followed by high winds. I'm not sure of the status now. The thing with this is to plan on doing three laps. Its short. Don't even fu*k w/ Baker creek, the trib upstream. Mosh Pit on the Soul Duck, if playboat'n is yer thang. If you are lucky and the Nasselle is in while you are, hit up Mr. Bigwater 4 sure cuz that just may be one of his favorite spots on the river planet. The Grays: if you want a gnarlier class IV that has class V flavor, hit this one up. All this stuff I mentioned, except for the Soleduc, is in the South West quadrant of the OP, and where most of the best "Boater's Geology" is concentrated. The Sitkum is awesome, but definitely leaning more towards class V. The East side of the OP has a lot of runs but isn't as sweet, geologicly. The whole OP is beautiful. You'll lament the damage done to your drysuit (a wetsuit may be the way to go if you're worried about preserving your drysuit: portaging/ hiking through the woods tends to happen more often than not), and you may get abducted by bigfoot, or at least the surroundings will convince you of such a possibility when you aren't hallucinating and seeing 'wood nymphs' or Ewoks or Ents moving out of the corner of your eye: it's awesome. But, the east side geology tends to be kind of "junky" rock. Give it about 5,000 more years and I'm sure those streams will be on their way to becoming "Whitewater Classics". Read the geology essay on the OP in the beginning of the Korb book. Several times. It is likely the most valuable beta included within those pages, aside from his hand drawn maps, which continue to be quite reliable. The Elwha is a whole other animal. I'm not sure what the status of the Whiskey Bend Trail access will be when you'll be here (the removed the dam(s) last fall). But this is rightfully treated as a very comitting, 2 day class V expedition w/ an 8.5mi hike. A few uber hard core class V boaters do it in a day, but arguably they could stand to "stop and smell the roses". To each their own. But the Grand Canyon Elwha is the holy grail of OP runs (fu*k you, Water Wacko: I know what you're thinking. I'm talkin 'bout the Korb book here, not the more modern "hike-in-class V classics". Take me in there first before advertising it to the out-a-towners, umm-kay?  )------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 21 Feb 2012 at 7:11pm
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And don't forget the SK Skokomish. A bit more V than Matheny, but still manageable and a great full day on the river. I had fun in there, just don't run it topo high. It gets stompy. Vance Creek is another option.. short, with a bit of a hike in. More of an adventure run, but pretty. And certainly THE most bang for your OP buck (and solid V). Jefferson Creek. These runs are more easterly in direction. I would recommend checking predictions/gauges a few days before your trip to have a running list of A: your dream runs, B: what'll likely be high, and C: what'll likely be in. The OP is FINNICKY! Even when I go out there for a weekend, because it comes from rain, ya just don't know what the rivers are really gonna be doing til you're in there. ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |
Posted By: tsherman
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 10:33am
| Thanks everybody for all the input! Sounds like we are in for a great trip! |
Posted By: James
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 11:59am
| I did not mention the S.F. skok specifically because of the first rapid in the second canyon. No portage, and while it is not full on class V it is virtually impossible to scout and pretty technical in nature, ie specific spots you need to go and don't want to go. |
Posted By: Hulkster
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 12:38pm
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Originally posted by jP
Middle Frk Satsop (Fool's Canyon): straight forward IV, but make sure there's no wood. It was clean Thanksgiving weekend, but then we had an ice storm followed by high winds. I'm not sure of the status now. The thing with this is to plan on doing three laps. Its short. Don't even fu*k w/ Baker creek, the trib upstream. All clear as of 2/12/2012. AdamG and I busted out a couple laps and while there were a couple pieces that may move around with higher flows it was completely clean on that day. We skipped Baker Creek this time....
Pretty sure I sumbitted beta after our run, did it not come through JP?
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Posted By: JayB
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 2:28pm
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Since we're on the topic of the OP - how does the gradient/character on Sitkum compare to FITW or the Cooper?
------------- -Jay |
Posted By: James
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 3:01pm
| Well FITW is much narrower and shallower than the cooper, and I would say Sitkum is like a mix, deeper than FITW but narrower than the cooper. The drops on the sitkum are a mix of likeness between the two but are generally a bit bigger than anything you find on either one also. The canyon seems wetter than the cooper, ya know more soggy with mossy rocks. Oh and I have never finished any section of the sitkum and found bikini clad ladies lounging on the rocks at the takeout... Probably the biggest difference for most boaters. |
Posted By: Travisimo
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 3:06pm
Well I was really interested in the Sitkum until that last little bit of beta. Too bad, sounded like a fun run! ------------- H2O please |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 8:45pm
Haha-Travis! Crack me up 
Yeah, comparing Sitkum to a hybridized Fitwah/Cooper is pretty accurate, though the Sitkum definitely has more of an adventurous, committing feel than either Fitwah or the Cooper. A notch harder, it may be safe to say. But its somewhat, ELFable. There are certainly a few stand out rapids and drops that are gnarlier then the two runs. But you can generally be methodical and scout/portage as you go, unlike some of the more continuous runs gushing out of the Cascades. Very Pool Drop. Not at all like Jefferson, or Robe, or the LW. Not as continuous or as technical as Icicle. Still, there's always wood waiting to be encountered everywhere. May as well get cozy with it. ------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2012 at 8:48pm
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Hulkster, your updates coulda easily been approved by Jed, joe, or James. The fact that all of our names start w/ a "j" is but one of the many stringent qualifiers that make us Rio Banditos. I haven't been back to that page in a bit, but I'm sure your beta is there...
Let's check... ------------- 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋 |